‘The World Trade Organisation is not a substitute for EU ’

I READ with weary exasperation the letters from Brian Moss and John Emery (Post and Times August 29) in which they defend Brexit and attack the Remainers.

‘They (the Remainers) are making us look like fools to the rest of the world’ complains Mr Moss, while Mr Emery claims ‘Things will be better once we leave in March next year.’

We are promised fresh expanding markets, new opportunities, safety nets etc.

This is wishful thinking. The World Trade Organisation is often cited as a more than adequate substitute for the EU. It is not. We would still be regulated-and we would have far less influence.

In any case, President Trump is threatening to take America out of the WTO. This would cripple it.

President Trump is a good reason why the mantra ‘We will improve trade with the US’ is unlikely to work.

He is conducting a tariff war with China and has alienated Europe.

He has just undermined the longstanding three-sided arrangement with his neighbours, Mexico and Canada by coming to an agreement, verbal only, with Mexico and letting talks with Canada slide.

His domestic problems have resulted in articles with headings such as ‘All the President’s Crooks’ in the New York Times. Impeachment is on the cards.

The last fall-back, Africa, might be less profitable than hoped.

As things stand, it would be no substitute for Europe. It houses four of the world’s most corrupt nations. Governments tend to have too little control or too much. Remember the hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by terrorists? The government could do nothing about it. Zuma might have left South African politics and Mugabe might have been swept away, but there is a long way to go. By all means let us cultivate relations with these states but don’t bet the farm on them. Before Theresa May Blair and David Cameron played the Africa card, painting an enticing picture of African wealth and accessibility. It is a tempting gimmick for hard-pressed politicians. Rider Haggard’s ‘King Solomon’s Mines’ has much to answer for.

Now Mrs May has announced that there will be no second referendum. Does she fear the result? Perhaps this time round the electorate would be more wary of unrealistic visions and better informed about the pitfalls. These last two years have shown all too well what is wrong with Brexit-and the judgement of the shrinking number of die-hards clinging to it.